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Howth Castle has been the stronghold of the St. Lawrence family for hundreds of years. Initially a timber fort, which was built on Tower Hill in 1177 before a permanent stone-walled Norman castle was constructed in mid-fifteenth century at the present site.

Up on the Hill to the South of the Castle stands a 12-hectare (30-acre)garden which was first planted in 1875 and is best known for its 1,500 varieties of wild rhododendrons, one of the largest collections in Europe. In order to construct and plant the garden , earth and peat was carried up the cliff face and put into holes in the rocky surface. The original plants were mainly the common purple rhododendron “Ponticum”.

Nestled at the base of the Hill is an ancient dolmen known as Aideen’s Grave which was mythically flung by “Finn McCool” from the Bog of Allen.

The Castle has much Literary References most notability James Joyce`s Book “Finnegan’s Wake” which is based around Howth Castle and the surrounding area. As for the Rhododendran Gardens, this is the location where Bloom proposed to Molly in Joyce’s Classic “Ulysses” –